Death & Strawberry
by PhantomKnight102
Summary: I'm sure there are plenty of people out there wondering what would've happened to Bleach if Rukia had just used her zanpakutō in the beginning. This is my version of that fateful night.


**FYI, a lot of this is taken right from the first chapter (don't sue me!), so you can just skim up until the part where Rukia traps Ichigo in her ****kid****ō**. That's where it branches off.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, it belongs to Kubo-sensei. **

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– 2:23 AM, Friday – Karakura Town –

A swallowtail butterfly appeared suddenly, high over the rooftops of the sleeping city. "I feel it here…" a dark figure muttered, watching the town from high above. "Strange…I sense enormous spirit energy…"

_And so fell the sword of fate_

Ichigo stormed upstairs, too annoyed with his father right now to bother with dinner. "Geez, why is my family so weird?" he muttered, slamming the door to his room. A light fluttering sound caught his attention and he looked up in curiosity. "A swallowtail butterfly? Where'd it come from?" he mused, watching it flutter innocently into his room. Funny, he'd never left the window open…

His eyes widened in shock as the figure of a girl entered his room through the wall, completely ignoring him as she landed right in front of him. "It's close…" she muttered, though it was quickly interrupted by Ichigo, who had promptly kicked her in the rear.

"**How's that for close, jerk?!** Heh, pretty cocky for a burglar, aintcha?!" he yelled, pointing to her on the ground. "What's close?! The safe? Is that burglar-speak or something?!"

Meanwhile, the girl was frozen in confusion. "You…you can** see** me?! And…you **kicked** me!"

Now it was Ichigo's turn to be confused. "Huh? Stop yammering! Heck yeah I can see you…" he trailed off, just as his father burst into his room with a flying, double-knee kick to his back.

"Quiet boy! Stop jumping around up here!" he shouted.

"How can I be quiet when I'm subduing intruders?!" Ichigo responded, adding a kick to his father's face in return. "Look at this! Where's out home security!?" he demanded, pointing at the girl still on the ground.

"Huh? Look at who? What?" Isshin replied, scratching his beard as he glanced about the room, not seeing any burglars.

Now Ichigo was annoyed. "Huh? The chick in the samurai gear…" he mumbled, turning around to see her getting up.

"It is no use. Normal people cannot see me. I'm a soul reaper," she said ominously.

(His father took the opportunity to leave the room now, deciding to go bug his daughters for some sympathy.)

A few minutes later, the girl had finished explaining her story. "So you're a soul reaper, and you came all the way from this **Soul Society** thing to vanquish an evil spirit," Ichigo repeated. "That makes sense…**Are you out of your freaking mind?!**" he shouted suddenly, flipping over the table that had magically appeared in his room just now.

"What?!" she exclaimed, falling back to the ground, surprised by his sudden outburst. "You insolent…You can see ghosts, yet you do not believe in soul reapers?!"

"Of course not! I've never seen a soul reaper before. I don't believe **anything** until I see it with my own peepers," Ichigo claimed. "Since Dad couldn't see you, you're probably not living…but go play 'soul reaper' somewhere else! Got that, you little snot?" he said, shoving her back towards his window in an attempt to get her to leave.

"You dare speak that way to me?" she muttered darkly, digging her heels in and turning around. "Bakudō #1: Sai!" she shouted, pointing her first two fingers at Ichigo. An invisible force twisted Ichigo's arms behind him with a loud 'crack!' and he found he could no longer stand up, falling to the ground with a loud thump.

"Ow ow ow ow ow! Crazy girl…What did you do?!" Ichigo demanded from the girl, annoyed that she had the audacity to use his back as a foot rest to lean on.

"Heh heh, it is useless to struggle!" she claimed, looking down on him. "This is **kid****ō**, the demon way, a high-level spell only a soul reaper can cast! Despite my appearance, I have lived **ten** of your lives! Yet you dare to call me 'little snot?' I would kill an insolent fool like you, but the provisional spirit law forbids unauthorized executions. I will let you off with a minor case of paralysis this time. Be grateful, **little snot!**"

"Freakin' wannabe samurai…" Ichigo muttered under his breath, struggling against the invisible hold.

"And this…" she continued while drawing her sword, alarming Ichigo.

"W-wait…" Ichigo stuttered, watching her lower her sword…to rest the hilt on some ghost that had been following him. "What…?" Ichigo began, just as the ghost cried out.

"N-no, I-I don't want to go to hell!" it pleaded.

"Do not presume. What awaits you is not hell. It is the soul society. Unlike hell, it is a restful place," she explained as the soul began to disappear into a pit of black, replaced by two swallowtail butterflies.

"What…what happened? Where's the ghost?" Ichigo questioned, looking at the spot the soul had previously occupied.

"I sent him to the soul society. I performed **Kons****ō**, the soul funeral. You call it 'passing on' in your language. It is one of the duties of a soul reaper," she explained. "To ask if you believe me or not no longer seems necessary. I will explain so that even a brat like you can understand. Be silent and listen," she ordered, reaching into her kimono to grab something.

"Now, in this realm, there are two types of souls," she explained, pausing a moment to scribble something on her sketchpad, which she then began using as a visual. "The first type are the **'wholes,' **the normal spirits. The ghosts you know are of this type. Now the other type we call **'Hollows.'** Hollows attack the living and the dead indiscriminately, and devour their souls. Hollows are 'evil spirits.' Any questions so far?" she asked, passing momentarily to make sure he understood.

"Hmmm…why does your drawing suck so bad?" he asked. Before he knew it, she had drawn a French moustache on his face with her marker. "Hey! What the…?! You took advantage of my helplessness!" Ichigo claimed.

"Let us continue, Monsieur Général," she teased before adopting her serious tone again. "We soul reapers have two principle duties. First, to conduct **wholes** to the Soul Society by means of Konsō, and second, to vaporize hollows. Which is my mission now."

"Hang on," Ichigo interrupted, wiping his moustache off on the floor. "You mean there's a Hollow around here now?"

"There is."

"Are you stupid!? Don't stand there yapping! Go vaporize it!" Ichigo insisted.

"Actually, that is…" she began, looking worriedly at the window. "I have not been able to sense its presence for some time now," she admitted.

"Wha…Why not? What's the –" He suddenly stopped as a loud, bloodcurdling howl sounded that chilled his blood. Internally, he was freaking out, but the soul reaper girl seemed not to notice, continuing her business.

"…like some force obstructing my senses…" she mused thoughtfully, blissfully unaware.

"Hey! Hey, soul reaper!" he called out to gain her attention.

It worked, and she turned to him. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?! That bloodcurdling howl? What was that?" he exclaimed.

"Bloodcurdling howl? Maybe –" Then suddenly she heard it too. Hastily she looked back at the boy, her mind reeling. _I heard it! That was the cry of a Hollow! But…it's like I'm hearing it through some unseen filter. What is it I'm sensing!? But how could __**this**__ one have heard the howl before I sensed it!?_

Suddenly there was a crash downstairs, followed by an outcry, and she snapped around. "That was Yuzu!"Ichigo noticed with horror. Wasting no time, the female soul reaper dashed out of the room. "Hey! Where you going!? That horrible noise was the howl of a Hollow!?"

"Yes!" she said, pausing a bit. "I am going to kill it! Stay here!" she commanded, but Ichigo would have none of it.

"Hold up! **That's my family being attacked! Undo your spell! Now!**" he demanded.

"Don't be a fool! There is nothing you can do! You'll only succeed in adding to the body count! Be quiet and leave this to me?!" she said once again. Then, for added measure, she cast another binding spell on Ichigo. "Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō." The six pillars slammed into his midsection, effectively rendering his entire body immobile.

Satisfied that he would stay put, she opened the door, letting in a blast of the Hollow's energy inside. Not letting it deter her one bit, she rushed out of the room and down the hall, barely sparing a glance for the injured – but still alive – girl crawling her way to Ichigo's room. She rushed downstairs, stopping at the base to observe the scene. The Hollow had made a large hole in the front of the house, where it was now standing with one of Ichigo's sisters in its large hand.

Acting quickly, she rushed forward with her zanpakutō already drawn, slicing the arm of the monster clean off. Then she spun around, shunpoing to catch Ichigo's falling sister. Two more shunpoes and she was back in front of the Hollow, the now-unconscious girl safely in the house.

Deciding to end it quickly in case more Hollow came, she called out her zanpakutō. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki." As she twirled her sword, the blade, guard, and hilt turned pure white, a long ribbon extending from the base of her hilt. The Hollow paused, observing her and her sword's new appearance as if assessing her power.

Using the Hollow's momentary distraction, she pierced the ground in front of her four times, taking a firm stance as she uttered the words of her attack. "Tsugi no Mai: Hakuren." A giant wave of ice shot forward, completely encompassing the small Hollow.

With a smirk she sealed her sword, just as the ice shattered, easily destroying the Hollow. Taking a moment to check for more Hollows but finding none, she walked back inside, fully intending to release Ichigo from her kidō. And as she had intended, he was in the exact same spot as before, unable to move. That didn't stop him from trying, though, when she re-entered. With a snap of her fingers, the kidō dispelled.

"Hey, you! How could you just leave me here when my family is being attacked!? I want to help?!" he said immediately upon his release. She held up a single hand, silencing him.

"Your family is safe. I have taken care of the Hollow. However, I would like your help in cleaning up. They don't need to remember what happened tonight," she said.

Ichigo nodded, and before she could turn around, offered his hand to her. "Thank you, soul reaper," he said. She gave him an odd look, but shook his hand anyways.

"You're welcome. And my name is not 'soul reaper.' I am Rukia Kuchiki," she said, offering a small smile.

"Ichigo Kurosaki," he replied. Rukia nodded and then walked out into the hall, stopping when she came upon his first sister.

"Ichigo, take them and lay them in their beds. I will be along in a moment to heal their injuries. I want to heal your father first," she said in a somewhat commanding tone, though Ichigo didn't argue.

It didn't take Rukia long to heal Ichigo's father's back, and when she was finished, she headed upstairs to where Ichigo was putting his sisters to bed. When he heard her enter, he looked up expectantly, waiting to see what she'd do. "Now go move your father," she ordered. He scowled, and with one last glance at his sisters, left the room.

In no time at all Rukia healed the girls' injuries. By the time Ichigo came back, Rukia was tucking one of them back into bed. He watched from the doorway, and when she walked out, followed. As soon as they were downstairs Ichigo blurted out the question that had been on his mind. "How did you heal their injuries?"

"Kidō," she replied, smirking. "Surprised? Well, I did have the best grades in my kidō class," she bragged.

"Hmm, yeah, well can your kidō fix that gaping hole in the wall?" Ichigo asked sarcastically.

Rukia frowned. "No, it doesn't work that way."

Ichigo scoffed. "Then how do you suppose we fix it?" he asked, growing more annoyed by the minute.

"I don't know. That's not my problem," Rukia replied, beginning to walk out of the house now.

"What?! Hey, wait! Where are you going! Rukia!" he called after her, but before he could catch her she disappeared with a 'swish.' Growling and muttering under his breath, Ichigo stormed upstairs for the second time that night, his new soul reaper friend still on his mind.

The wall could wait until tomorrow.

(He really hoped no one tried to break in.)

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**Hmm, this is something I wrote quite a while ago for a friend of mine while we were discussing the first chapter of Bleach, and I thought I could write my own version of what I think would happen if Rukia had been a little smarter in that encounter that night. Idk, it could possibly develop into a multi-chapter story, but for now it'll remain complete unless y'all really want me to continue. Let me know what you think in a review, please! :)**


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